


The First 'I Love You'

by respoftw



Series: The Adventures of Ace Dameron [5]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Finn is an overprotective papa, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-15
Updated: 2016-01-15
Packaged: 2018-05-14 03:41:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5728339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/respoftw/pseuds/respoftw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The base never feels quite right when Poe is gone. Finn can't quite Put the reason why into words, if he tried he'd no doubt come up with something sappy and lovelorn like comparing a Poe-less base to a planet entering a month long darkness as the sun disappears behind the horizon, so it's really best not to try and vocalise it at all. Not if he wants to keep some shred of dignity anyway.</p>
<p>The one where Finn really doesn't know how to deal with a sick child.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The First 'I Love You'

The base never feels quite right when Poe is gone. Finn can't quite put the reason why into words, if he tried he'd no doubt come up with something sappy and lovelorn like comparing a Poe-less base to a planet entering a month long darkness as the sun disappears behind the horizon, so it's really best not to try and vocalise it at all. Not if he wants to keep some shred of dignity anyway.

Waking up to the unnatural quiet of Poe's small two bed quarters, the comparison is apt. Finn groans and stretches out his back muscles, biting his lip as they scream in protest. His back always feels worst in the morning, no matter how comfortable the bed. At least he's finally chairless, he thinks, if not yet painless.

Yawning, he catches sight of the time and is astonished to see how late it is. Although, given that he had spent hours just lying there trying not to hyperventilate about the fact that this was _Poe's_ bed, that these were _Poe's_ sheet, that _Poe_ was trusting him to look after his son while he was way, that _Poe_ had probably touched himself while lying right here - it's maybe not that surprising.

Finn is up and halfway to the refresher when it dawns on him how strange it is that Ace hadn't woken him up. Not even when he was back in the sick bay had Ace let him sleep to a reasonable hour, Finn had gotten used to sharp elbows, sticky fingers or enthusiastic singing waking him up. Changing course, Finn pads stiffly across the small living space to Ace's bedroom.

He had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

 

In retrospect, running into the sickbay, screaming and yelling for help with a fevered and shivering Ace in his arms wasn't the smartest move he could have made.

* * *

 

"How was I supposed to know that it was just a cold? He could have been dying, Rey! Would you stop laughing at me please?" Finn knows he's pouting but, really, he had been doing what he thought was needed and it's not his fault that he'd never dealt with a sick child before.

"I know, I'm sorry," Rey manages to gasp between bouts of giggles. "It's just that watching General Organa cuff you around the head for making her think that Ace was deathly ill was the funniest thing I've ever seen."

Finn manages to smile at that, at least. It _had_ been pretty funny and the warm hug she had pulled him into after the unfortunate head cuffing incident was pretty nice. Even if it had caused him, in the absence of adrenaline, to realise that dashing through the halls of the Resistance base with forty-five pounds of five year old boy in his arms hadn't been the best idea for his still healing back.

"Are you OK?" Rey sounds more serious now, the laughter gone for the moment as she casts a significant look at the powerchair he'd found himself back in.

Finn shrugs, "It's not forever. My back just needs rest. Plus, Ace really loved going for rides with me in it and pretending he was flying Poe's X-Wing so, it could be worse."

"Wow, you've got it bad," Rey smiles. "For the both of them. I hope you know what you're doing."

_So does Finn._

* * *

Finn had always been amazed at how well Ace coped when Poe was off-world on a mission. He missed his Papa, of course, but he'd always been content to pass the time with one of his many Aunties or Uncles, stockpiling stories and adventures to share with Poe when he returned.

Sick Asa, it turns out, isn't quite so accepting of Poe's absence.

"But I want my Papa," Ace begs, "I feel bad and my Papa always makes it better."

"I know, peanut, I do. And I'm sorry he's not here but if you would please, _please_ , just open up and take some of this medicine then you'll feel better, I promise." Finn pleads, not above begging at this stage - anything to get him to take the damn medicine.

Ace's liquid brown eyes sparkle with unshed tears as he looks up at Finn and something in his heart breaks. He eases himself out of the powerchair, wincing as he goes, and slides onto the bed next to Ace, who promptly folds himself into Finn's side, until Finn can feel the unnatural heat radiating from his small body.

Ace snuffles against his skin, wiping his runny nose against the front of Finn's shirt. Chuckling, Finn reaches out for a tissue which he hands over to Ace.

"'Fank you," Ace responds politely and Finn has to laugh at the evidence of well raised manners coupled with the act of wiping your nose on someone else.

"I miss your Papa too, you know," he says quietly. "I'm not very good at this."

Ace shakes his head vehemently. "You're good at _everything_ , Papa said so."

"Well, that was very nice of him to say but I've never had someone look after me when I'm sick before so I don't know what to do to make you feel better like your Papa does."

"Never?!" Ace asks, wide eyed. "Not even when you were little like me?"

"Not even then," Finn answers.

He half expects Ace to press for more detail but, like his father, he seems to have an uncanny knack for knowing when to push and when to let things be. Instead of asking why, Ace sits up straight and, bleary eyed but determined, reaches out for the medicine bottle.

"I'll teach you," he says, "first: you gots to pretend the spoon is 'Black One' and fly it around the air - -"

* * *

Ace falls asleep soon after Finn had successfully flown the medicine into its landing space and not long after he had tried to coach Finn through telling the story of his grandmothers most famous mission ("No, Finn, you're telling it wrong but its OK, I know you're trying really hard") and Finn knows that he should move to his chair, should head back to his, _Poe's_ , room but Ace's last words before drifting off have left him unable to move, unable to think and barely able to breathe.

_"Love you, Daddy."_

Three little words that have shaken Finn to his very core, three _huge_ words that have taken up residence in his heart and refused to leave.

Finn lies there for hours, trying not to hyperventilate over Ace's words, over the fact that Ace had said that he loved him, over the fact that Ace had called him Daddy, over the fact the every single atom of him was screaming that this was everything he wanted.  He falls asleep where he lies, surrounded by half of everything he's ever wanted.

* * *

"Shh, go back to sleep."

Finn groans as he feels the bed dip beside him, feels a heavy weight settle behind him. "Wha-? Poe?"

"Yeah, it's me. It's late, go back to sleep." Poe's voice tickles the back of Finn's neck and he shivers.

"Ace..sick," he murmurs, sleep already sinking its claws back into him.

"I heard." Poe sounds vaguely amused and Finn would tell him off for making light of Ace's illness if he wasn't so tired. "I just checked his temperature," Poe continues softly, "it looks like his fever's broken. You did a good job, buddy."

"'K," Finn replies, "is tha' good?."

Poe chuckles, "It is."

"S'good," he pulls the warm weight of something over his chest to rest on Asa who is still tucked in front of him.  He has the fuzzy feeling that he should be panicking about something but panic is incredibly hard to come by when he feels so safe and happy and warm. "Love you, Poe," he breathes into his pillow before floating back to sleep - completely oblivious to the thunderstruck expression on Poe's face behind him.

* * *

 

As homecomings go, Poe would have to say that it was one of his better ones.

 

**Author's Note:**

> There you go, have some more fluff!
> 
> If anyone has any ideas for things they'd like to see in this series - please let me know either in the comments or message me on [tumblr](http://buffycuddlespigs.tumblr.com/ask)


End file.
